Willim Mons: how Peter I executed his wife's lover. Execution cannot be pardoned: How Peter the Great dealt with his wife's lover Execution of Mons
(1724-11-26 )Willim Mons, subscribed de Mons(German Willem Mons, 1688, Duchy of Westphalia - November 26, 1724, St. Petersburg) - brother of Peter I's mistress Anna Mons, adjutant of the emperor, chamber junker, chamberlain of the imperial court. Executed for bribes and a love affair with Empress Catherine.
Biography
The son of a German native, a goldsmith (according to other news - a wine merchant) Johann-Georg Mons(surname options - Monet, Munet, Monciana), a native of Minden (Weser) and his wife Matryona (Modesta or Matilda) Efimovna Mogerfleisch (Mogrelis; 1653 - 10/04/1717). Johann-Georg was the son of the chief sergeant major of the cavalry Tilleman Mons And Marguerite Robben. He was born in Westphalia, in 1657-1659. trained as a cooper in Worms. In the 2nd half of the XVII century. Johann-Georg came with his family to Russia and settled in Moscow. The family had three more children: Matryona (Modesta), Anna and Filimon.
By 1690, his father had his own house and was part of the circle of wealthy people of the German settlement (on June 20 and October 22, 1691, Tsar Peter I was present at the feast in his house). After his death, the widow had to give up the mill and the shop for debts, but the house with the "austeria" (hotel) remained with the family. Anna Mons met the king around 1690 with the assistance of Lefort, since then the rise of Mons began.
Service
In 1707, the favorite's brother was recommended to Peter and Menshikov by the Prussian envoy Keyserling (Anna's future husband). Entered into military service in August 1708. He served as a volunteer, then as an adjutant general (wing) under the cavalry general R. H. Bour. Participated in the battle at the Forest and Poltava battles. On June 30, 1709, near Perevolnaya, as a truce, he negotiated a surrender with the Swedes and was successful.
execution
On November 8 of the same year, Mons was arrested and charged with bribery and other illegal activities. The investigation into the Mons case was carried out by the head of the Secret Office, P. A. Tolstoy.
On November 13, the death sentence was handed down. The execution by cutting off the head took place on November 26 in St. Petersburg.
The true reason for the quick investigation and execution was the affection that the empress had for Willim.
Chamber Junker Berchholtz in his notes describes the execution, along with which “on that cloudy and dank day” his sister Matryona (exiled to Tobolsk), the secretary of Mons Yegor Stoletov (exiled to Rogervik for 10 years), jester Ivan Balakirev (exiled to Rogervik for 3 years). Page Solovov (12 years old) was flogged in court and signed up as a soldier. The verdict was signed by Ivan Bakhmetev, Alexander Bredikhin, Ivan Dmitriev-Mamonov, Andrei Ushakov, Ivan Musin-Pushkin, Ivan Buturlin and Yakov Bruce. In the margins, Peter wrote: "Commit according to the sentence."
The body of Mons lay on the scaffold for several days, and his head was covered with alcohol.
Head
The historian Mikhail Semevsky could not find the heads in the Kunstkamera in the 1880s.
| Willim Mons | |
| Occupation: |
adjutant of the emperor, chamberlain, chamberlain of the imperial court |
|---|---|
| Place of Birth: |
Duchy of Westphalia |
| Father: |
Johann Georg Mons |
| Mother: |
Matrena Efimovna Mogerfleish |
| Spouse: | |
| Children: |
executionThat same year, on November 8, Mons was arrested and charged with bribery and other illegal activities. The investigation into the Mons case was carried out by the head of the Secret Chancellery, P. A. Tolstoy. On November 13, the death sentence was handed down. Executed by beheading on November 16 in St. Petersburg. The true reason for the quick investigation and execution was the affection that the empress had for Willim. The historian Semevsky could not find the heads in the Kunstkamera in the 1880s. Image in cinema
Write a review on the article "Mons, Willim Ivanovich"Literature
NotesAn excerpt characterizing Mons, Willim Ivanovich- Quant a celui qui a conseille ce camp, le camp de Drissa, [As for the one who advised the Drissa camp,] - said Pauluchi, while the sovereign, entering the steps and noticing Prince Andrei, peered into an unfamiliar face .– Quant a celui. Sire, - Paulucci continued with desperation, as if unable to resist, - qui a conseille le camp de Drissa, je ne vois pas d "autre alternative que la maison jaune ou le gibet. [As for, sir, before that person , who advised the camp under Driesey, then, in my opinion, there are only two places for him: the yellow house or the gallows.] - Without listening to the end and as if not having heard the words of the Italian, the sovereign, recognizing Bolkonsky, graciously turned to him: “I am very glad to see you, go to where they have gathered and wait for me. - The emperor went into the office. Behind him walked Prince Pyotr Mikhailovich Volkonsky, Baron Stein, and the doors closed behind them. Prince Andrei, using the permission of the sovereign, went with Pauluchi, whom he had known back in Turkey, to the drawing room where the council had gathered. Prince Pyotr Mikhailovich Volkonsky served as the chief of staff of the sovereign. Volkonsky left the office and, bringing the cards into the drawing room and laying them out on the table, he passed on questions on which he wished to hear the opinion of the assembled gentlemen. The fact was that at night the news was received (later turned out to be false) about the movement of the French around the Drissa camp. The first to speak was General Armfeld, unexpectedly, in order to avoid the present difficulty, by proposing a completely new, in no way (except to show that he, too, may have an opinion) inexplicable position away from the Petersburg and Moscow roads, on which, in his opinion, the army should have united to wait for the enemy. It was evident that Armfeld had drawn up this plan long ago, and that he now presented it not so much with the aim of answering the proposed questions, to which this plan did not answer, but with the aim of taking the opportunity to express it. It was one of millions of assumptions that could be made just as thoroughly as others without having any idea of what character the war would take. Some challenged his opinion, some defended it. The young Colonel Toll disputed the opinion of the Swedish general more than others, and during the argument he took out a written notebook from his side pocket, which he asked permission to read. In a lengthy note, Tol proposed a different plan of campaign - completely contrary to both Armfeld's plan and Pfuel's plan. Pauluchi, objecting to Tolya, proposed a plan for moving forward and attacking, which alone, according to him, could lead us out of the unknown and the trap, as he called the Dris camp in which we were. Pfuel during these disputes and his interpreter Wolzogen (his bridge in a courtly sense) were silent. Pfuel only snorted contemptuously and turned away, showing that he would never stoop to object to the nonsense that he now hears. But when Prince Volkonsky, who was in charge of the debate, called him to present his opinion, he only said: - What should I ask? General Armfeld offered an excellent position with an open rear. Or attack von diesem italienischen Herrn, sehr schon! [this Italian gentleman, very good! (German)] Or retreat. Auch gut. [Also good (German)] Why ask me? - he said. “After all, you yourself know everything better than me. - But when Volkonsky, frowning, said that he was asking his opinion on behalf of the sovereign, then Pfuel stood up and, suddenly animated, began to say: - They spoiled everything, confused everyone, everyone wanted to know better than me, and now they came to me: how to fix it? Nothing to fix. Everything must be done exactly according to the reasons I have set forth,” he said, tapping his bony fingers on the table. – What is the difficulty? Nonsense, Kinder spiel. [children's toys (German)] - He went up to the map and began to speak quickly, poking a dry finger on the map and proving that no chance could change the expediency of the Dris camp, that everything was foreseen and that if the enemy really goes around, then the enemy must inevitably be destroyed. Pauluchi, who did not know German, began to ask him in French. Wolzogen came to the aid of his principal, who did not speak French well, and began to translate his words, barely keeping up with Pfuel, who quickly proved that everything, everything, not only what happened, but everything that could happen, everything was foreseen. in his plan, and that if now there were difficulties, then all the fault was only in the fact that everything was not executed exactly. He constantly laughed ironically, proved, and finally contemptuously gave up proving, just as a mathematician quits verifying the correctness of a problem once proven in various ways. Wolzogen replaced him, continuing to expound his thoughts in French and occasionally saying to Pfuel: "Nicht wahr, Exellenz?" [Isn't that right, Your Excellency? (German)] Pfuel, as in a battle a heated man beats his own, angrily shouted at Wolzogen: – Nun ja, was soll denn da noch expliziert werden? [Well, yes, what else is there to interpret? (German)] - Pauluchi and Michaud attacked Wolzogen in French in two voices. Armfeld addressed Pfuel in German. Tol explained in Russian to Prince Volkonsky. Prince Andrew silently listened and watched. Of all these persons, the embittered, resolute and stupidly self-confident Pful was the most arousing interest in Prince Andrei. He, one of all the people present here, obviously did not want anything for himself, did not harbor enmity towards anyone, but wanted only one thing - to put into action the plan drawn up according to the theory that he had deduced over the years of work. He was ridiculous, was unpleasant with his irony, but at the same time he inspired involuntary respect with his boundless devotion to the idea. In addition, in all the speeches of all the speakers, with the exception of Pfuel, there was one common feature that was not at the military council in 1805 - it was now, although hidden, but a panic fear of the genius of Napoleon, a fear that was expressed in every objection. Everything was supposed to be possible for Napoleon, they were waiting for him from all sides, and with his terrible name they destroyed one another's assumptions. One Pful, it seemed, considered him, Napoleon, the same barbarian as all the opponents of his theory. But, in addition to a sense of respect, Pful inspired Prince Andrei with a sense of pity. From the tone with which the courtiers treated him, from what Pauluchi allowed himself to say to the emperor, but most importantly from the somewhat desperate expression of Pfuel himself, it was clear that others knew and he himself felt that his fall was near. And, despite his self-confidence and German grumpy irony, he was pitiful with his smoothed hair on the temples and tassels sticking out at the back of his head. Apparently, although he concealed this under the guise of irritation and contempt, he was in despair because the only opportunity now to verify by vast experience and prove to the whole world the correctness of his theory eluded him. |
Perhaps everyone has heard of the Kunstkamera - a museum in which, at the direction of Peter I, strange "things" were brought from all over Russia. Its walls contain numerous cultural relics, as well as the famous bodies of "freaks" - people and animals with physical disabilities. But sometimes ordinary people also got into the Kunstkamera. One of them was Willim Mons, a handsome court man with whom, according to rumors, the wife of Peter the Great cheated.
Willim Mons was still a child when his parents moved from Westphalia to Russia. The sisters Matryona and Anna became prominent ladies at the imperial court and, as they say, mistresses of Peter I.
Willim grew up to be a strong handsome man, who was looked at by the first beauties of the capital St. Petersburg. He took part in several military campaigns and became close to Peter, becoming his adjutant.
Thanks to the influence of the sisters, Willim received an honorary position under Empress Catherine Alekseevna. He became her chamberlain, and then chamberlain. Willim Mons managed the Empress's finances and conducted her correspondence. During the decade of being with the imperial family, Willim Mons collected a fortune, received estates, built several houses in St. Petersburg and Moscow.
The good life for Willim Mons came to an abrupt end in November 1724. He was arrested allegedly for financial embezzlement, embezzlement from the treasury and bribery. In fact, as they said in high society, the king found his wife, Empress Catherine, alone with Mons in an unambiguous situation.
Despite the intercession of Catherine, the 30-year-old Mons was put in chains and tried. He was beheaded in front of a crowd in the center of St. Petersburg.
Catherine's betrayal greatly worsened Peter's attitude towards her. The emperor, himself known for his numerous adventures "to the left", ordered Mons's head to be cut off and it to be sealed in a jar. For several days the vessel stood in the chambers of the Empress, and then it was taken to the Kunstkamera.
Peter and Catherine no longer ate at the same table and even slept in different rooms. But only three months passed and the dying Peter forgave his wife.
The head of Mons was kept in the Kunstkamera for another half a century, until it was identified and buried. So resolved one of
Now about the current Kunstkamera, built specifically for the "outlandish museum" in 1727. However, the evil spirits did not let up and seemed to have moved along with the exhibits to a new apartment.
In the Kunstkamera, Peter ordered to place the head of his executed mistress Maria Hamilton. Then the head of William Mons, the executed lover of Catherine, Peter's wife, was added to it. Such acts did not find understanding among the people.
Tsar Peter did not live to see the opening of the new museum building
It was said that every object of the museum bears the "seal of the Antichrist", does not cast a shadow and comes to life at night. According to legend, there is a secret vault in the Kunstkamera, where dangerous magical artifacts are collected.
For example, in the vault of the Kunstkamera there is a broken clock, which sometimes starts to go back, then the hands stop at 9:45. This foreshadows the death of one of the museum's caretakers.
Another mysterious exhibit is a figurine of a bronze cat. It was said that she blinks, the one who saw this - soon died.
In the museum there were not only drunk, but also living "court freaks". Such was Nicolas Bourgeois, whose height reached 226 cm. Bourgeois's skeleton remained in the museum after his death.
In 1747, a fire broke out in the building of the Kunstkamera, they said that the unclean could not do without jokes. Many of the exhibits burned down in the fire, most of them managed to be saved. They tried to restore the building only after seven years, but two years later, work was again interrupted.
During the fire, the skull of the skeleton of the giant Bourgeois disappeared. Then a new skull was found. They say that the skeleton wanders around the Kunstkamera at night, looking for its head.
The history of Maria Hamilton is connected with the Kunstkamera. She was a favorite of Peter, whom the wife of the Tsar Catherine I accused of stealing her jewelry. The king was also informed that Mary was cheating on him with a batman, from this connection a child was born, whom she killed. Hamilton was sentenced to death for theft and infanticide. Catherine I, who did not want her rival to die, asked Peter to commute the sentence. The emperor believed that the murdered baby could be his child, so he refused to cancel the execution. An aggravating circumstance was also that on the eve of Peter issued a law against discrimination against illegitimate. Maria Hamilton was beheaded.
Tsar Peter pardoned the orderly-rival.
Description of the execution by a witness:
“When the ax had done its job, the king returned, raised his bloody head that had fallen into the mud and calmly began to lecture on anatomy, naming all the organs affected by the ax to those present and insisting on dissecting the spine. When he finished, he touched his lips to his pale lips, which he once covered with completely different kisses, threw Mary's head, crossed himself and left.
The head of the executed woman was sealed in alcohol and kept in the Kunstkamera.
Maria Hamilton before her execution
Soon a legend about the atrocities of the Antichrist king appeared among the people. “... under Emperor Peter I, an extraordinary beauty lived, whom the king saw, and immediately ordered to be beheaded. The head was placed in alcohol in the Cabinet of Curiosities, so that everyone and at all times could see what beauties would be born in Rus'.
Then the head of William Mons, the careless lover of Catherine I, got into the Kunstkamera. Tsar Peter quickly decided the fate of his opponent.
Supposed portrait of William Mons
Eyewitness notes:
"On the 16th, at 10 o'clock in the morning, the executions announced on the eve of the execution were committed against the Senate, in the very place where Prince Gagarin was hanged for several years. The former unfortunate chamberlain Mons, after reading the sentence to him outlining some points of his guilt, was beheaded with an ax on a high scaffold..."
“All those present at this execution cannot be surprised at the firmness with which Chamberlain Mons went to his death. After reading the sentence to him, he thanked the reader with a bow, undressed himself and lay down on the chopping block, asking the executioner to get down to business as soon as possible. Before leaving the fortress from the house where he was kept, he quite calmly said goodbye to everyone around him, and many, especially his close acquaintances and servants, wept bitterly, although they tried, as much as possible, to refrain from tears.
“On the way back from the house of Count Tolstoy, distinguished guests (the empress, princesses, etc.) passed both by the place where the body of Chamberlain Mons lay on the wheel, and by the place where his head was stuck on a pole.”
The body of Mons lay on the scaffold for several days.
During the reign of Catherine II, Hamilton's head disappeared. English sailors were suspected of the theft, and they promised to return the head. They returned a year later and brought three heads of Basmachi, the authorities accepted this compensation.
According to another version, the head of Maria Hamilton was buried at the direction of Empress Catherine II.
Checking the accounts, Ekaterina Dashkova, the director of the St. Petersburg Academy, noticed the substantial expenses for changing the solution of "exhibits", which turned out to be two heads - a man's (William Mons) and a woman's (Maria Hamilton). Dashkova learned the stories of the executed and told the empress. It was said that Maria Hamilton appeared to Catherine II in a dream and asked for reassurance. The Empress fulfilled her request, the head was buried. They also buried the head of William Mons.
Building during the siege
During the siege, the basements of the Kunskamera were used as a mortuary, here lay the bodies of Leningraders found on the street, who were then taken to the cemetery.
In 2010, on the eve of the Night of Museums, employees of the Kunstkamera observed a paranormal phenomenon.
Correspondent Gulnaz Akhmetshina said:
“I didn’t believe in all these stories about the poltergeist in the Kunstkamera until I myself saw what the museum’s security cameras recorded. One Saturday, a security guard ran in and told us that the night before, security cameras had caught a ghost. We didn't believe him. Then the clerk called us to look at yesterday's recording. But while he was taking it out for demonstration, the ghost reappeared on the video camera that filmed the halls online. In general, we saw him not in the recording, but live. It was a white plume, swaying like a pendulum under the ceiling.
The ghost appeared the next day:
“I decided to go down to the front staircase of the museum, where it hung, and look at it closely. Unfortunately, I did not see him in the hall. It was just awful to be there. And I even sang a song to the poltergeist to calm him down. But my colleagues who watched me on the security camera saw both me and the ghost. Moreover, when the tour began to climb the stairs, the ghost disappeared.
The museum guard explained that such phenomena occur regularly.
Monses and Catherine
Catherine had an affair with chamberlain Willim Mons (1688-1724), who liked to call himself Mons de la Croix. This Mons, who was the son of a Flemish jeweler (or vintner) who settled in Moscow, and the brother of Anna Mons (1675-1714). Yes, the same one. Another sister of Anna Mons, Matryona Ivanovna, with whom Peter also had a short-term relationship, married General Fyodor Nikolayevich Balk (1670-1738) and on the day of Catherine's coronation she was granted the title of lady of state. This Matryona became a confidant of Catherine I and contributed a lot to the love meetings of her brother with the queen. A few years before the coronation, Princess Elizabeth told her parents that“Once Mommy was with Mons, and suddenly Daddy came, and Mommy was very scared.”Peter I then did not pay attention to the childish babble, but then Yaguzhinsky's denunciation followed, and the tsar was able to verify his wife's infidelity.
Execution of Mons
Ushakov, on the orders of the tsar, arrested Mons on November 8 and subjected him to terrible torture, from which on November 16, 1724 Mons had a stroke.The investigation was led by Count Pyotr Andreevich Tolstoy (1645-1729) - Mons was accused of bribery and extortion, and he was beheaded on Vasilyevsky Island in front of the old Senate, which was then located in the building of 12 colleges.
During the execution, Mons behaved courageously, presented the pastor with an expensive watch in which the portrait of Catherine was hidden and asked the executioner to cut off his head with one blow.
The body of Mons was put on the square in front of the Senate, and Peter specially brought Catherine there and showed her the decapitated corpse of Mons. The alcoholized head of Mons was placed in the basement of the Kunstkamera to the head of Mademoiselle Hamilton, which was already stored there. So both heads were kept there until 1780, when Princess Dashkova obtained permission from Empress Catherine II to bury these heads in the same basement of the Kunstkamera.
Punishment of panders
Matryona Mons was sentenced for pandering to punishment with a whip on Senate Square and to exile in Tobolsk.The jester Ivan Balakirev and a certain Yegor Stoletov were also sentenced to exile. Major General Balk was forbidden to appear in St. Petersburg.
[After the death of Peter I, the new empress immediately returned these delinquents to Petersburg, even from the road.]
Mrs Balk was whipped and exiled. Her eldest son, the chamberlain of the empress, Pavel Fedorovich Balk (1690-1743), went as a captain to a line regiment on the Persian border. Pyotr Fedorovich Balk (1712-1762), a court page, went to the same regiment as a sergeant. After this story, Peter I wanted to drive the empress away and imprison her in a monastery, but he was dissuaded by Prince Anikita Ivanovich Repnin, who was supported by Osterman and Count P.A. Tolstoy. They explained to Peter that he had a marriageable daughter, and such a scandal could interfere with marriage plans, which were already difficult because of the origin of their mother. The emperor listened to the opinion of his advisers and decided to speed up the marriage of his daughters.
Marriage of Anna Petrovna
On November 24, the name day of Catherine I, Princess Anna (1708-1728) was engaged to the Duke of Holstein [Karl Friedrich Holstein-Gottorp (1700-1739)], and on December 18 Princess Elizabeth came of age, who turned 15 years old.But Anna's marriage was postponed due to the death of Peter I, and the wedding was played on May 2, 1725.
In order for Anna to have children, the Empress assigned to her the chief marshal of the Holstein court, Otto-Friedrich von Brümer (1690-1752). Anna and her husband left Petersburg on July 23, 1727 for Kiel, where on March 4, 1728 Anna gave birth to a son who became Peter III, and on May 15 she died. The father of the child was this very Breumer.
Under Elizabeth Petrovna, Brumer successfully brought the boy to St. Petersburg, despite the intrigues of the Vienna court.
Games around the throne
When Catherine I ascended the throne, the real power was with Menshikov. At first, he sought to ensure that Catherine I handed over the throne to her daughters, removing the young Peter Alekseevich. However, such plans were sharply opposed by Emperor Charles VI (1685-1740, emperor from 1711), the uncle of young Peter through his wife, Princess of Brunswick. More by promises than by threats, Charles VI obtained consent from Menshikov so that Catherine I would be succeeded by Peter II. The emperor guaranteed that the murderers of Tsarevich Alexei would be released from persecution. In addition, Charles VI gave Menshikov two duchies, the title of Count of the Holy Roman Empire and promised that the new Count Kozelsky would enter the board of princes of the Empire with the right to vote.The emperor also promised to facilitate the marriage of Tsarevich Peter with Menshikov's daughter. After such negotiations, there remained mere trifles: it was only necessary to convince the empress to sign a will that would leave her own daughters out of work and transfer the throne to Peter, the son of Tsarevich Alexei, hated by Catherine.
Such a will was drawn up and signed by the direct order of Catherine I by her own daughter Elizaveta Petrovna. Catherine herself could not read or write, and all documents were signed by one of the daughters of the Empress.
How did you manage to pull off such a scam?
Kramersha
Here Anna Ivanovna Kramer (1694-1770) took an active part, who for some time was the mistress of Peter I, and then the emperor appointed her as a maid to Catherine.According to Prince Peter Dolgorukov, Peter I instructed General Adam Adamovich Veida (1667-1720) to poison Tsarevich Alexei. Veide was the son of a pharmacist and he himself studied as a pharmacist in his youth, but he calculated something wrong, and Alexei suffered in terrible agony, but did not die. Compassionate Veide, in order to end the torment of Alexei, ordered to cut off the prince's head.
However, for a public farewell to the prince, it was necessary to sew the head to the body, and this procedure was entrusted to Mrs. Kramer. Kramersha did an excellent job with her task and was transferred to the queen's maid of honor.
Around the will of Catherine I
Kramersha managed to win the trust of Catherine, who, after ascending the throne, organized a separate court for Tsarevna Natalya Alekseevna (1714-1728), the sister of Tsarevich Peter Alekseevich, and made Madame Kramer the chamberlain of this court. This same Kramer received 30,000 ducats from Emperor Charles VI and worked the money in full, managing to persuade Catherine I to draw up and sign the required will. What Kramersha said to the dying Empress, no one knows. However, she convinced Catherine a few hours before her death to sign a decree on the expulsion of P.A. Tolstoy and comrades [enemies and competitors of Menshikov], and then organized the will of the Empress.The text of the will was compiled by Count Henning-Friedrich Bassewitz (1689-1749) on the instructions of Menshikov, but taking into account the interests of his duke. Catherine I in a weak voice, but firmly, ordered Elizabeth to sign a will on her behalf, which transferred the throne to Peter Alekseevich. If anyone could doubt who initiated such a will, then the 11th paragraph clearly stated that upon reaching the age of majority, Peter Alekseevich should marry one of the Menshikov princesses. Interestingly, this testament regulated in detail the procedure for succession to the Russian throne if Peter II died childless. And it was precisely this testament that Elizaveta Petrovna later referred to when she carried out a coup d'état. After the death of Natalya Alekseevna in November 1728, Mrs. Kramer retired to her Narva, where she lived quietly until her death. Empress Catherine II, passing through Narva, visited Mrs. Kramer and had a long conversation with her, but what they talked about remained unknown.
